CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian College baseball tied a season-high 16 runs and pounded out 19 hits to best USC Upstate in a Tuesday slugfest at the PC Baseball Complex, 16-11.
PC improves to 23-18 and hosts Coastal Carolina this weekend in the final home series of 2015. Game one is scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday. USC Upstate falls to 13-28.
Tyler Weyenberg (Marietta, Ga.) and Jay Lizanich (Greer, S.C.) each posted four hits and three RBI on the afternoon. Seven different Blue Hose enjoyed multiple-hit afternoons and AJ Priaulx (Warner Robins, Ga.) hit his first career home run for three RBI as well.
Freshman Russell Thompson (Alcolu, S.C.) earned the win with two early innings of relief, improving to a team-best 5-1 record. Hayden Deal (Newton, N.C.) picked up his second save. Upstate's Tyler Jackson took the loss to move to 0-5.
Upstate started the game with three straight singles before Charlie Carpenter cashed in with a grand slam for a 4-0 lead. The Spartans scratched out two more singles before the Blue Hose eventually turned a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
PC wasted little time in responding on offense, taking the lead in the bottom of the second. Cam McRae (Darlington, S.C.) and Jacob Midkiff (Rock Hill, S.C.) each drove in a run in the first to set up an eight-run second inning. PC loaded the bases on three singles for Weyenberg, who drove a two-run double to the left center gap. One sac bunt later, Lizanich knocked a single up the middle to plate a pair for a 6-5 Blue Hose lead.
With two on, AJ Priaulx tucked a 1-1 pitch under the left field scoreboard and over the wall for the first home run of the freshman's career. The three-run shot extended PC's lead to 10-5.
Upstate scored two more in the fourth on a hit and an error, only to strand two. PC took a run back on a Weyenberg single up the middle for an 11-7 PC lead.
Upstate grabbed its eighth run on an RBI groundout in the fifth, but PC answered again with a pair. Lizanich and Midkiff reached on walks, both moving over on a wild pitch. Peter Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) delivered by singling to right for a 13-8 home team lead.
Three runs from the Spartans in the seventh moved the visitors to within three, 13-11. Erik Samples drove in two of the runs, one of the Spartan's three hits and two RBI. Priaulx made a solid play in right field to start the inning, diving in vain for a single but popping back up to gun down the runner at second base.
Deal blanked Upstate in the eighth before PC added three more insurance runs in the bottom of the frame. Ryan Hedrick (High Point, N.C.) drew a one-out walk for Weyenberg, who bunted for a single and reached third on a wild throw that also scored Hedrick. Billy Motroni (Goose Creek, S.C.) knocked a RBI double down the left field line and scored soon after on a Lizanich single.
Deal made quick work of the Spartans in the ninth for the save.
Ethan Wortkoetter (Greer, S.C.) pitched 1.2 innings of perfect relief, striking out a pair.
McRae extended his reached base streak to 24 straight games, three shy of Kenny Bryant's PC Division I record of 27 games in 2010. PC's 19 hits stood one shy of the season-high of 20, set against Delaware State on February 14.
PC also scored 16 runs in the previous matchup against USC Upstate on March 24 in Spartanburg.
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USC Upstate......... 410 210 300 - 11 16 3 (13-28)
Presbyterian College 280 120 03X - 16 19 4 (23-18)
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Pitchers: USC Upstate - JACKSON, Tyler; ARROWOOD, Coleman(2); BRITTAIN, Cody(6);
SAMPLES, Erik(8); MITCHELL, Zach(8) and MILLER, Jordan. Presbyterian College - HAYES, Trey;
THOMPSON, Russell(3); BEEGLE, Logan(5); WORTKOETTER, Ethan(5); MOSS, Robert(7);
SAUER, David(7); DEAL, Hayden(8) and McRAE, Cam; BURT, Patrick.
Win-THOMPSON, Russell(5-1) Save-DEAL, Hayden(2) Loss-JACKSON, Tyler(0-5) T-3:36 A-144
HR UPST - CARPENTER, Charlie (2).
HR PC - PRIAULX, AJ (1).
Weather: Sunny, 70 degrees, W @ 12 mph
